SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Sacramento State baseball team won its fourth straight game and recorded its fourth shutout of the season in a 2-0 victory over Nevada on Friday afternoon in a Western Athletic Conference game at John Smith Field.

 

The Hornets (21-18, 4-3 WAC) scored two runs on six hits and the top defensive team in the NCAA made no errors. The Wolf Pack (20-17, 4-3 WAC) were held scoreless - for the first time this season - on five hits while making three errors.

 

It wasn’t the offense that pushed the Hornets to victory on Friday, as sophomore starting pitcher Dallas Chadwick was on his game from the very first inning.

 

Chadwick recorded four strikeouts through the first two frames and finished with eight strikeouts and no walks allowed in seven shutout innings. Junior lefty Tyler Hoelzen pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning and senior closer R.J. Davis tallied two strikeouts in the ninth inning en route to his seventh save of the season.

 

Chadwick, who had thrown just 13.2 total innings this season after missing a month due to injury, had his longest outing of the season on Friday and tossed 105 total pitches in his second start since coming back. In his first start of the season, against Creighton on March 7, Chadwick left after just two outs with an injury and didn’t return until April 8 at Louisiana Tech.

 

At the plate, the Hornets scored twice, once earned and another unearned. With runners at first and third in the fourth inning, junior Andrew Ayers smacked a single through the left side to drive in junior Clay Cederquist. Sacramento State scored its second run in much more bizarre fashion. After allowing a single up the middle to lead off the eighth inning, Nevada reliever Colby Blueberg tried to pick off Derrick Chung at first but the throw sailed over the first baseman’s head and Chung took off for second. As Chung rounded second on his way to third, the first baseman launched his throw over the third baseman’s head, allowing Chung to score from first on consecutive throwing errors.

 

Sacramento State, which entered the game with the nation’s best fielding percentage (.982) did not make an error.

 

The Hornets and Wolf Pack will meet at 1 p.m. tomorrow at John Smith Field for the second game of the series. Freshman RHP Brennan Leitao will throw for the Hornets while Nevada will counter with LHP Tyler Wells.